Russian court strips Communist deputy of Duma candidacy over Microsoft font copyright
A court in Samara has disqualified KPRF deputy Mikhail Matveyev from Russia's State Duma race after a rival candidate accused him of using unlicensed photos and Microsoft fonts in his campaign materials. Matveyev intends to appeal.
The Samara Regional Court has stripped Mikhail Matveyev, a sitting deputy from Russia's Communist Party (KPRF), of his registration as a State Duma candidate. The lawsuit was brought by Anna Sarantseva, a Party of Pensioners candidate competing against him in the same single-mandate district.
Sarantseva argued that Matveyev's campaign materials used photographs, including some of himself, without permission from the copyright holders. The materials also used Microsoft fonts whose licenses the company restricted in Russia following the full-scale invasion of Ukraine. The regional election commission supported the lawsuit, and Matveyev has said he will appeal the ruling.
One of the KPRF's strongest candidates
Matveyev is regarded as one of the Communist Party's most competitive single-mandate candidates, having won the Krasnoglinsky district in 2021. Ahead of this year's campaign, he and Komi deputy Oleg Mikhailov received the most votes among 230 participants in the party's internal "People's Candidate KPRF" selection project.
Meduza sources reported in June that the KPRF intended to avoid nominating candidates who had previously defeated United Russia rivals, a move that could hand United Russia a large enough majority in the Duma to amend the constitution without support from other parties. The party has already dropped two strong candidates elsewhere — in Altai Krai and in Yakutia.
A source told Meduza that similar copyright complaints have started appearing against Mikhailov as well. Copyright claims have also been used elsewhere in the current election cycle to remove opposition candidates: on August 12, Russia's Supreme Court revoked the registration of Yabloko's federal list following a lawsuit from the Rodina Party, citing unauthorized use of song lyrics, survey data and an AI-generated image.
